Some quick background. When the “Jurassic World” marketing machine revved up, the very first clip to be released was this:
Everyone”s first introduction to Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard”s characters placed them solidly in their respective gender boxes. Pratt is a bit of a cad and a sexual dynamo. Howard is brilliant but uptight. It”s a dynamic that”s been done to death for years. You could almost see Pratt slowly winning over Howard, proving once again that all a woman REALLY needs is a good lay.
Joss Whedon – in his now defunct Twitter account – took umbrage with this portrayal.
[A]nd I”m too busy wishing this clip wasn”t 70″s era sexist. She”s a stiff, he”s a life-force – really? Still?
The furor that erupted was vicious enough that Whedon eventually apologized. He admitted Twitter was not the ideal place for this conversation.
But now “Jurassic World” director Colin Trevorrow has come out and sided with Whedon”s interpretation.
Italian website BadTaste was on hand for the “Jurassic World” premiere in Paris. During the press conference, one of their people brought up the Whedon kerfuffle. Trevorrow's response* was pretty amazing.
*Translated via Google from Italian.
I was not angry about anything. I did not have gripe at all for what he said about “Jurassic World.” To be honest I [don”t] totally disagree with him and I wonder why marketing opted for a statement like that, showing an isolated situation in a film [without context]. [“Jurassic World” starts] with the characters that are almost archetypes; stereotypes that are deconstructed as the story progresses.
Interestingly, Trevorrow says Bryce Dallas Howard”s character Claire is the real star of the movie. This flies in the face of every trailer which has put Chris Pratt front-and-center. Which just goes to show movie-marketing can be a real shell game.
Trevorrow went on to defend Whedon from his most vitriolic critics. “[Joss] is too kind and polite to [tell] all his detractors to go to hell. But I'll do it in his stead.”
“Jurrassic World” roars into theaters on June 12, 2015.